Reno Took A Lover
by Shizune-hime
Summary: "A drunken man's words are a sober man's thoughts." / FINISHED!   First 'songfic'. Based on Bell X1's "Rocky Took A Lover". CissneixReno!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or its franchise, in any way possible. All characters and mentioned names belong to Square Enix._

**Ch. 01: Retreat**

… This wasn't the first time that the smell of alcohol seeped out of Reno's office space, in the just-rebuilt Shin-Ra Electric Company's headquarters.

Reno tipped the bottle up again and glugged down his whiskey. It was a certain kind of drug, if anyone could call it that, which his body had grown accustomed to over time. He was a full-time alcoholic, though everyone was amazed at how he could still keep himself together after a hangover. He usually blamed it on the money and free time he was given after accomplishing a mission, but then again any other employee in the kind of job he was in would settle for something of the sort to pass the time. After all, he's done it all - even went as far as drug dealing or taking drugs. And almost all the time, the President saved his arse. He reveled in it, that someone was always there to save him. Money was never a problem. All the President had to do was to make up a few excuses here and there for his behavior, and pay to bail him out.

Reno thought of himself as a lucky bastard. He was given every kind of luxury in the world he wasn't able to have when he was much younger, before he'd joined the Turks. All he had to do was be sent a mission, channel all the rage he could muster in his life – to hate his past, in particular – and then finish the job. That meant to kill or finish a covert operation with his fellow mates. Too easy.

But for some reason it sickened him. Deep inside he wanted to be able to save his own self; but why he couldn't was something he couldn't even comprehend. As they say, "The only way out is to go through." Reno gave up on what he considered was the most serious vice - drug dealing - some years ago, but now he was a full-fledged alcoholic and smoker. So where was the way out?...

There were times he wanted to kill himself with morphine and cocaine again until Rufus took him out of the ditch, again and again, but luckily and graciously his conscience usually pushed him out of the way of that sort of harm. But the alcohol and the cigarettes - a slow death for him. He felt stuck. Incredibly stuck to the point where he just wanted to die. He had no idea what to do anymore.

All the girls liked him – drunk or not. Getting laid was never an issue for him – if he wanted it, he got it. He had his way with the ladies and the ladies fell for it every time. All he had to do was take them out for a few good drinks, dance the night away no matter how ridiculous he looked, make out with them and grope them here and there… and bring them home. He could do this every night and women would call him up the next morning, ask him to hook up with them, and Reno would do so, but eventually over time make up excuses that he was busy and was sent on a mission. Oh, especially that excuse – if he said he was on a mission and wouldn't be available to call for days, he'd add up to the story, and they'd stop calling. If they reached the point of madness he wouldn't care at all. He'd even change numbers, and target another set of ladies. Reno was the ultimate ladies man. Or at least that was in his own terms, and everybody else's – but to some, he was the great emotional assassin. But, as usual, he didn't care. He'd do the same routine over and over. The material things made up for the emotional pain.

… One particular girl, however, was some sort of a challenge for him and he liked it. He liked it when women were feisty; he liked a danger to try and handle. A firecracker on the job, this girl he'd known for years on end now within his circle of Turk friends was a quiet girl that had a certain puncture to her words when she said something. Though she was sometimes a bit of a loner, Reno was interested in her. It upped the ante for him. If anything, she was probably the only girl he had never tried to trifle with. To think they'd known each other for years and he never made a move to get to know her much more and their level of getting to know each other only reached up to business purposes was astounding. But he found her attractive, in some way or another, and always looked out for her, wondered what she was doing, even if they never really talked. All he had to do was ask her around, but he'd been told many times to approach her. So he figured, maybe tomorrow, when she's around, he could start talking to her.

The moment he looked at the clock, it just about hit 9 in the evening. Around this time, the Turks packed up and left to their dorms, or to their apartments or homes in the city. And around this time, he usually went up to the rooftop and passed out there.

And that's what he just did. He stood and brought his bottle with him, staring up at the humming fan over his desk and pulled down the string once to shut it off. Reno swaggered to the door and left, making his way with weary eyes to the elevator. As soon as the doors opened and he entered, he punched in the button that hinted "Rooftop". It took a while, but when the elevator's _"ding"_ sounded, he stepped out of the concrete alcove and the lift, heading for one of the concave, pyramid-shaped and steel-rimmed windows, the dim fluorescent light from the floor below coming up through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or its franchise, in any way possible. All characters and mentioned names belong to Square Enix._

**Ch. 02: Stars**

… The sky was studded with stars – one could make out constellations familiar to the city-dwellers. The stars helped him focus, unlike how it was in the office space where the light seemed to blare and almost made him blind.

Of course, that was because he was usually drunk.

A smile formed on his thin lips, the ever-well-known "crow's feet" forming at the edges of his eyes. The stars usually made him sad, made him wonder how much more worthy it was to live his own life. He was aware about his own addiction, but he couldn't stop. It made him feel numb. But at certain times the numbness didn't last. It couldn't really mask the whole child-like wishful thinking he usually held inside, and at certain times he wished he was a child again. But as immediate as the times were changing, he then had to put up a tough exterior and become a man. His childhood made him one, and it was incredibly rough.

Reno tipped the bottle up again, the crash of the liquid against his lips and the burn of it all too familiar.

The stars made him want to call out to the universe and he wanted to question if there was anything else in store for him. At the same time, he felt his heartstrings tugged at opposite directions – half of them were in pain and he wanted to cower and hide, the other half wanted to 'help' him just stand there and take every blow and try not to care, fight back when needed.

Reno was getting old, and he wondered for how long he could take his own attitude. In a sudden reverie he became serious; he wasn't one to suddenly cry, but he did. After he glugged down the liquor a few more times, he leaned his head back against the concrete behind him and stared up. He choked in his own tears for a moment before holding his head in one of his hands, elbow on one knee up, and his face flushed as he cried. He wanted to apologize to every man he'd killed, every heart he broke, but he didn't have the guts to. Reno couldn't muster it up; he lost so much in his life and figured that being stone-hearted and cold about it would make everything easier. Of course, it wasn't easy at all. It was hard to pretend, and on nights like this everything felt like a tidal wave – everything came crashing down on him, in his loneliness. This was a face of himself no one really knew – he was also vulnerable.

Loneliness was something Reno was very much familiar with. He wasn't one to spend time much with Rude, regardless of being his partner, or the President, unless it was drinking at a bar or a party in the office or at 7th Heaven, or maybe in the other night clubs found in the darker parts of the city. Or when he was alone, more so did the loneliness take effect, and it would lead him to dissolve his worries away by taking women to his bachelor pad or his office, work hours or not. More evidently, however, alcohol was the one thing he treated as his best friend, something to banish his wiles away.

As the Turk closed his eyes and the scent of alcohol reeked around him, he listened to the sounds of the city below. Faint sounds of people chattering and the sound of cars rolling on by calmed him somewhat. But the sound of someone coughing nearby, or clearing his or her throat, broke his reverie.

Weary eyes opened and he saw a girl in a suit leaning over the edge, some 10 feet away from him. He had to blink twice to try and recognize who it was, and to his surprise it was that one girl that always caught his attention. He thought she'd already left, but apparently, not yet. Reno tilted his head and watched her red hair tread softly in the wind the city gave, making him grin slightly. Some sort of mischievous demon conjured up a thought in his pretty little (red) head that this was the perfect time to pounce in and catch her attention. He was feeling lonely, tonight, and figured that he needed the relief. And whatever it took – a little talk, or if he was lucky, if he could take her home… he'd take the chance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or its franchise, in any way possible. All characters and mentioned names belong to Square Enix._

**Ch. 03: Pinhole**

Reno stood and with his bottle in hand, he walked over to her with a certain sway that could only be marked as a drunken man's walk. But he didn't care. He leaned over the edge too, but stayed away from her for some 3 feet away.

"Whoa, Ciss… I didn't know you came here often, yo."

The girl had to take a second glance to realize who it was, and she blinked as she looked back down at the city. The redhead Turk some few feet near her was a man she'd known for years in the job, but being quite isolated from the whole business he got himself into – say, his vices – it felt like she'd never known him at all. "Around this time, yeah. You get to watch the city from a very quiet viewpoint, so…"

Reno could only nod. He couldn't look at the city below just like she did; it made him feel so nauseous. So he looked up or far, past all the surrounding buildings' rooftops, past the new ones that were just recently built to make Edge more pleasant. The stars, however, always caught his attention.

Cissnei, on the other hand, was fascinated with stars too, but she wasn't a genius with them. She wished sometimes she could be one of them, hovered in space and suspended in time, and the mere thought of it suddenly made her smile. But all of a sudden she remembered the night before – she had gone to the bar with the Turks and Reno apparently made a quite 'crude' and perverted move on one of the Turk women. Her colleague turned him down, however, and instead opted for Rod. Reno suddenly became rude to everybody. So why was he suddenly talking to her now?

Reno didn't know where to start. But he figured, since they were up on the rooftop and the velvet blanket hovered above…

"…Orion's Belt," he said.

Cissnei looked at him. "Hm?"

Reno smiled wearily as he looked up at the full, pin holed, blanket of stars. "… Orion's Belt. Very familiar constellation, yo. Ya know it?"

Cissnei looked up like he did. "…Ah. Yeah. 3 stars aligned next to one another. Orion's Belt… from mythology, right? My knowledge is getting rusty, so pardon me."

"Yer' right, yo." Reno smiled. "I dunno much either, so, you'll have'ta pardon me." He grinned and nodded once, and just focused on the said set of stars up above. "…So, 'side from the city, y'come here for the stars?"

Cissnei nodded. "…Sometimes…" she said quietly, "… but mostly it's for the silence."

Reno didn't respond after a while, and she tried to spot some more familiar constellations in the night sky.

"… Sounds odd comin' from me, but…" Reno prompted, to which after a split-second he smiled sheepishly, "… I wanted t'be one of those 3 stars. Always thought the three stars were me, Rude and Elena. Or the President. Or even Tseng, yo."

Cissnei listened to him intently as he spoke, and her head tilted down as she looked at the almost-empty streets below. She sneaked a glance with her eyes only, watching as he turned around and leaned back against the concrete, waist-high, borderline of the building.

"…'Guess I won't be one of the stars. Everyone knows I drove myself right through a black hole, yo. And I keep drivin' m'self through it." Reno pondered for a moment, and raised the bottle to his lips. He snorted as he seemed to be embarrassed, but drinking from the bottle afterward. The sound of the liquid washing down his throat was audible to Cissnei, who said nothing at all. "So somehow, the stars aren't so much of a good sight, after all," he added. "They're kinda depressin', yo. Dunno whether to cry wishin' I was one of 'em or feel hopeful."

The female Turk felt some sort of pity for him. She liked him, and with what he was doing to himself, she wanted to help. But he couldn't even carry himself, the sway in his standing position making her feel all the more bad for seeing him like this. Cissnei wanted to scold him for being such a restless bastard, having the guts to go through life hurting other people's feelings – missions excluded, of course. But the incident last night and how he talked to the President made her want to slap him in the face. And if she were to ever scold him tonight, she had a good reason to.

"Right, well," Cissnei said, facing him, "that's a nice way to put it, and 'wake me'. I'm so glad you know it yourself."

Reno looked at her, a brow raised, but not so much as a mock.

"But, you weren't so nice last night. You're such an asshole when you're drunk, and maybe even so much more. You were retorting at the President like he wasn't even there. I hope you realized today while you were at your desk pushing pencils."

Reno neared her, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not so sure ya know how we're like, missy." He stepped up to her, looking down at her as she scowled up at him. "We're buddies, yo. An' I think since ya've been in the Turks long 'nuff, ya should know, the President's used to it. So, at least I'm okay in the mornings."

"Ah…!" Cissnei snorted and scowled. She felt like she wanted to get mad, but the kind of 'mad' where she wanted to cry. "Wow. So much for a veteran Turk. So just because you hang out with Rufus so much, you've lost all respect for him and you can act like some kind of jester in court. I'm appalled." She shook her head and walked away, but stopped halfway when she remembered to add something.

"Forgot the keys to m'house, hun?" Reno smirked. "Better c'back 'ere if ya want it, yo."

Cissnei glared at him. "I wouldn't be telling you what I said if I wasn't concerned, _yo." _She paused, letting a silence drift by. "…Go home and sleep, Reno…" Her eyes softened. "…You need it." Cissnei turned on her heel, wordlessly, as she decided to take the lift down to her office space to clean up.

Reno snorted to himself and sighed, embarrassed with how he acted. He decided to take her advice, and just go home.

… He had a good 10 hours of sleep, but was still bothered by a lot of things the following day.

It was another night where it hit 9 in the evening. And as always, he left his office space with a bottle of brandy, this time, in hand, and took the elevator up to the rooftop to see the stars. As he expected, Cissnei was there… again. He smirked to himself as tired eyes focused on her, swollen from all the tears he cried. She turned, about to leave, but scoffed.

"Oh great…-"

"Hey, wait a sec, yo." Reno called out. Cissnei looked at him, her weight shifted to one side. "… I'm not gon' be an asshole t'night, yo." He waved it off. "Keep me company? I'm not gon' molest ya or anything, promise."

Cissnei didn't know what to say.

At the same time, the Turk paused. "…Look'a me. I'm drunk, yo. Ya'd shoot m'head off if I touched ya. And I just need someone ta' talk to… just tonight." A sad smile creased his lips. "…Please?"

_What a nice way to say 'please',_ she thought. Some sort of sympathy crossed Cissnei's mind and emotions as she observed him. _Please…_

He was trying, effortlessly, to stand straight and on his own two feet. And he was doing fine. She figured, _"Well hey, he's gone this far with alcohol and spends much time alone, he seems to be fine nonetheless. He doesn't need me, or anyone else to help him."_

But then again… he was lonely. And here he was, honestly saying he needed someone to talk to, and yes, she would shoot his head off if he tried to touch her.

Cissnei crossed the distance between them and stopped a foot away from him. She nodded slightly, and quietly eyed the bottle. "Well, let me just say, I'm sorry for how I acted last night. Was really sudden… I think."

"Nah, s'bout time someone shut me up, yo." Reno frowned. But he smiled afterwards, quite sheepishly. "S'okay."

"Right…" Cissnei ran her palms down her pants, as if wiping them. She pointed at the bottle he held. "So… you done with that?"

"Yeah, pretty much, yo." Reno raised the bottle to the dimness of the rooftop, seeing that around five millimeters of liquid was left. His chest was heavy and burning with the alcohol; he couldn't finish it anymore. "I think I'mma leave this here, yo."

Cissnei took the bottle from his hand gently and set it aside. She had an intricate idea. "… You said you like the stars, right?" she asked.

Reno only nodded, rubbing his nape. "Cheesy of me, huh…"

"… There's a place where you can see tons of stars, as much as you'd like," she noted. "And I guess no one's really noticed that, since no one comes there at night."

"Oh?" Reno questioned as he blinked. He rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Where's this… 'place' ya say, yo?"

Cissnei, offering to be a friend, quietly took out her handkerchief and softly pushed his hand away, stepping in close. With the cloth in her hand, she stared up at his aquamarine eyes and noticed they were red. Some part of her wanted to break when she noticed the wetness circling his eyes, but blinked in quiet surprise when she realized they were tears he cried – apparently, earlier. Cissnei only smiled when she started to dab at the wetness that gathered.

"…Costa del Sol."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or its franchise, in any way possible. All characters and mentioned names belong to Square Enix._

**Ch. 04: Shine**

… The travel was quiet. She let Reno lie down on the seats right behind, and he gladly closed his eyes and rested. Sympathy traveled through her, and she reckoned it was about high time she became kind to Reno – if at least she was the only one to be so. Reno was, after all, a nice guy nonetheless. He was just being reckless most of the time; he needed guidance.

The travel was pretty much short, since Cissnei borrowed the chopper from the hangar. They flew to Costa del Sol - that ever-familiar beach on Gaia, and landed on a helipad specifically constructed by Shin-Ra, which Rufus asked to be established before when travels made to the place were made. The propellers' droning sound stopped and Cissnei hopped out of the helicopter, waking Reno, and then gently helping him out. They made their way to the sandy shore; no one was around – she was right. Reno followed suit as the sand crushed faintly under her shoes, and she took a seat on a firm dune, near the water. Reno smiled to himself as she beckoned him over with a gentle look and a motion of her hand, and he sat next to her.

All thoughts of capturing her and being able to touch her or spend time intimately with her were banished.

"Look," Cissnei said as she pointed up, "you can see the Big Dipper!"

"Well hey! Whaddya know, yo…" Reno nodded at the constellation she pointed at and lay down on the sand, hands behind his head. He looked up at the massive pin holed sky; it seemed wider than it was when they were at the helipad earlier. There were more shiny dots too – brilliant stars that Reno never imagined he could see – and they shone like diamonds. He took the time out to marvel at them to himself.

"…Ya ever wonder how the Ancients founded technology, yo?"

"No… not really. Why?"

"Ahh." Reno smirked. "I heard a story when I was a kid, yo… there were 3 Ancients who followed a star, an' did some astrology stuff. At the same time, some girl was looked up to like a goddess, an' was foretold t'be their savior, messenger, whatever…" Reno shrugged. "An' somethin' bout Minerva too. Y'know, the Goddess? I dunno, somethin' I just read somewhere, yo."

Cissnei snorted. "I don't really believe in reverence," she said, shrugging. "But it's nothing against anyone who does, of course…" She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her chin on her knees.

"Everyone does, Cissy." Reno looked at her for a moment. "C'mon, yo. Ya must have some kinda' faith, ya know? Can't always do it on yer' own… my faith took me here, I can say... I'm pretty sure yours took ya here, too."

Cissnei eyed him and he smiled softly. She knew things about belief – had it once, lost it, or it was dissolved. In this case it was so much of everything rolled into one. She didn't know much about her past, only that she was raised within Shin-Ra's walls and was incorporated into the Turks when she reached her teenage years. She wasn't told much either.

"I don't believe in any old god; if there was a god then why is _my_ arse the perfect height for kicking?" she said and shrugged. "…I really don't know, it's just how I've turned out to be. It feels like my arse is always high for a kick. And I can relate to what you said last night… the whole deal about stars… not knowing whether to be hopeful or to keep wishing and crying and despise things…" She smiled sadly.

Reno chuckled. He shook his head. "Mm. They're kinda like headlights tho', don't ya think?" He sat up and shrugged. "Here they're kinda… closer than they seem. And considerin' what ya jus' said… I'd say we're kinda in a gutter, an' from here, we're still starin' at 'em."

Cissnei found herself scowling for a moment. "…Blah." She shook her head and shrugged. "Okay, I'm… kind of confused. Just…" She stood and paced, to which Reno raised a brow at. He stood up and followed.

"What, yo?"

"Just… go away and shite, Reno." Cissnei couldn't understand how she was feeling anymore. The similarity of their situations and how they felt about things was too much. She felt some sort of closeness to him by heart, and it kind of scared her. The whole ordeal of revealing her emotions was something she trained herself not to do – especially considering her line of work.

"Look, I'm confused. All you did last night was kind of… curse at the stars because they sang to you of hope. I mean… I don't understand how you could feel so hopeless. There's _millions _of them pretty much telling you that you can be much more than what you are now." She scoffed and pointed up, a sharp sigh escaping her. "Come on."

Reno was surprised with what she was saying. "…Ya know why, hun? Ya might not understand, but everything fades away. Yeah, that's why. So sometimes it's rather pointless t'just hope and hope fer' somethin' better, don't ya think? I'm sure ya can relate."

"Yeah, but…"

Reno smiled sadly and sighed. "…The stars, and us… we're all made o'whatever ectoplasmic thing out there. Carbon. Which fades away. The sun too… gives us life but takes it away too, yo. Like all the greats, it'll burn out someday."

"Well, I don't mind." Cissnei frowned and folded her arms. "You're the one who told me we've got to have some sort of hope. I really don't mind hoping… it's kinda boring… when you stop." She turned to face the sea. "I don't want to end up… well… beached on this shore or whatever." She looked up once more. "I… want to be that star, actually."

Reno observed her for a moment. He neared her and stared up at the stars. "Well… I'm not a star, but… I could help ya."

Cissnei frowned. "Banish the idea." The mere thought of a drunkard liking her was close to 100% impossible. She was well-aware she was quite the difficult girl to be around, but somehow was alright with some of her friends in the company. Or maybe it was just Reno. She wanted some sort of power to save him but couldn't, and what was he talking about being a star? If he was talking about being some sort of role model and 'shining' so people would be inspired then no. She wasn't convinced at all. He was too much of a disheveled personality to be trifling with her like this. Not to mention, he had just drunk another whole bottle, and it wasn't so clear if he was still drunk.

"Don't play with me, Reno. I'm not in with your games."

"Well I'm not playin', but don't shoot m'head," he said, laughing.

"What _exactly_ are you getting at?"

Reno faced her. The woozy feeling he received from the alcohol was gone now. "Well… this is me talkin', yo. Since we're quite the same but clearly there's some things I still gotta know 'bout ya…" He paused.

"What-… Reno?..."

Reno rubbed his nape and chuckled softly. "…I could shine for ya, burn for ya, like a star… if yer' gonna be fine with bein' mine."

Cissnei laughed. "Yeeeeeah—no. Now how many times have you said this line?"

Reno looked at her, eyes locking with hers as he kept his hands in his pockets. "… I'll shine for ya."

"Shut up."

An honest, warm smile crossed his lips, catching Cissnei off-guard. "I'll burn for ya. Save ya, maybe… cheesy comin' from me, but hey…" Reno rubbed his nape. "And maybe then if yer' gonna be my star, we can shine together."

For the first time, in all the years she knew Reno, this was the very first time she saw _him._

"There's this star, yo… the Twin Spica. 'Dunno if ya heard 'bout it, but from afar it's like one star, yo. Up close, they're actually two, spinnin' round each other. Maybe… maybe we can be that." Reno cleared his throat quietly. "I always liked ya, Ciss. Was just shy to approach ya. I know, it's weird, yo, that'cher hearin' this from me an' I just drank a bottle, but… I'm bein' honest here. An' I'm kinda lost… as ya can see."

She'd clearly consider herself crazy if she gave him a chance, but... she'd known this guy for years and adored him somewhat, no matter how ridiculous he looked. She liked making fun of him, liked the way he flirted with her, in fact - she wouldn't get pissed and even if she just laughed as he did neither of them would get offended. Now, the "shining together" part was a different matter. And that he always liked her – maybe that part was just something that usually came off his mouth when he was drunk. What would colleagues say if they saw the both of them hanging around each other too much? Or dating, if confirmed?...

But, like she'd learned from all the years of doing her work… sometimes, taking risks open new doors, windows… possibilities. And besides, she liked this guy too.

"You know…" she started, a weak smile crossing her face, "… stars don't drink." She shook her head and chuckled. It was serious time. And sure, she did like him. So maybe if she gave him a chance…

"…Maybe if you stop drinking, you can shine better."

The Turk shrugged, keeping the smile. He reached up and ran a soft knuckle over her cheekbone.

"…I'll shine as bright as I can. That's what I'll do, just for ya."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 05: Lyrics**

**"Rocky Took A Lover"**

**- Bell X1**

He said, "I want to shine in the eye of Orion,

But I drove my soul through the black hole."

She said, "That's a wonderful way to wake me.

But you weren't so nice last night;

You're such an asshole when you're drunk."

He said, "At least I'm okay in the mornings."

He said, "The three wise men came a long way,

Following that pinhole in the sky - yeah, that one right there."

She said, "I don't believe in any old Jesus -

If there was a god, then why is my ass

The perfect height for kicking?"

He said, "I'll shine for you... I'll burn for you."

He said, "I'll shine for you... that's what I'll do."

He said, "They're like headlights in the rear view mirror,

They're closer than they seem.

And from this gutter, we're still staring at the stars."

She said, "Won't you go away and shite?...

Last night, all you did was curse those stars,

'Cause they sang to you of hope."

He said, "The sun gives life, and it takes it away,

But like all the greats, it'll burn out someday."

She said, "I don't mind; I don't want to get bored.

I don't want to end up beached on this shore.

I want to be that star."

I want to be that star... (3x)

And then, I can shine for you

And then, I'll burn for you

I'll shine for you...

...That's what I'll do.


End file.
